Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor is a stroke off the lead in the Memorial Tournament

Originally published June 2, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Updated June 3, 2018 at 12:01 am

Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor watches his bunker shot on the 18th hole Saturday during the third round of the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. He is one shot off the lead. (David Dermer/AP)

Kyle Stanley, tied for the lead after Friday’s second round, shot a 2-under-par 70 Saturday and enters Sunday’s final round tied for second place in the PGA Tour event. Bryson DeChambeau (66) leads at 14-under 202. Tiger Woods is tied for seventh.

After a bogey on his final hole, Stanley was at 13 under along with Patrick Cantlay (66) and 19-year-old Joaquin Niemann (70) of Chile.

DeChambeau, Stanley and Cantlay are in the final threesome Sunday and are scheduled to tee off at 6:30 a.m. PDT.

Stanley started with three bogeys and a birdie over the first six holes, then had a birdie on the par-5 seventh.

“I felt, from probably 7 on, I played pretty well,” he said. “Just couldn’t really get anything going to start the round. Other than that, pretty happy with how I recovered and I’ll take 2 under today.”

DeChambeau had four birdies in his last six holes. His birdie on the final hole was set up by a 9-iron shot to 5 feet.

“Look, I just want to birdie every hole,” DeChambeau said. “That’s all we’re trying to do out there.”

On Saturday, the course was so soft and vulnerable, it seemed as if that’s what it might take to win the tournament hosted by 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus.

Cantlay made two eagles, including a hole-in-one.

Much of the attention was on Tiger Woods (68), who was tied for seventh place at 9 under. At one point, 14-time major champion Woods was tied for the lead. But he three-putted two of the last three holes, missing a par putt of slightly more than 3 feet on the 18th.

“I know I shot 68 today, but again, that’s probably the highest score I could have possibly shot,” five-time Memorial winner Woods said. “I played really, really well. I played beautifully, actually. Had total control of what I was doing out there and just didn’t finish it off.”

DeChambeau also could have scored better.

“Just keep thinking about those two 3-footers I missed,” he said, before adding, “I played great, obviously. Ecstatic about where I am.”

Ryan Moore (68) of Puyallup was tied for 11th place at 8 under.

Stanley, 30, is seeking his third PGA Tour victory.

“Being Mr. Nicklaus’ event, it would be pretty special,” he said. “This event, it has a little bit of a different feel. I mean, the field is really good. So I would say it maybe has a different, maybe a little bit of a higher feel than some of the other events we play.”

Jutanugarn leads

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ariya Jutanugarn turned a three-shot deficit into a four-shot lead after shooting a 5-under 67 at the U.S. Women’s Open at Shoal Creek.

The 22-year-old from Thailand started the third round of the major tournament behind Australian Sarah Jane Smith, but quickly gained ground, making two birdies on her first three holes.

Jutanugarn took the lead after Smith stumbled with back-to-back bogeys and then surged ahead with three straight birdies on the back nine. She was at 12-under 204 for the tournament.

Smith started the tournament with back-to-back 67s, but shot a 74 in the third round and didn’t make a birdie to fall into second place.

South Korea’s Hyo-Joo Kim (68) was in third at 6 under.

It was a long, sticky day at Shoal Creek, especially for those who had to complete their second round Saturday morning before playing the third round later in the day. Jutanugarn had a 4 a.m. wake-up call and played a total of 28 holes as the temperature hovered around 90 degrees and combined with stifling humidity.

Jutanugarn was able to rest for a few hours before getting back on the course and birdied two of the first three holes to immediately put pressure on Smith, who has never won on the LPGA Tour.

Smith had the advantage of finishing her second round on Friday before thunderstorms swept through central Alabama, but couldn’t capitalize. She made seven straight pars Saturday before back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 dropped her one shot behind Jutanugarn.